Can vacuumizing and seaming machine



CCL 31, 1933- N. TRoYEF ET A1.

GAN VACUUMIZING AND SEAMING MACHINE s Smets-sheet 1 Filed March 18, 1932Oct. 31, y19.33. N` TBOYER ET AL 1,933,462

CAN VAQUUMIZING AND SEAMING MACHINEl Filed March 18 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet2 ATTO NEY Patented Oct. V31, 1933 UNITED STA TES l 1,933,462 CANvAcUUMIzING AND sEAMING MACHINE f Nelson Troyer and Paul E. Pearson,Seattle,'

Wash., assignors to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application March 18,1932. Serial No. 599,822

2 Claims. (Cl. 113-24) This invention relates to can vacuumizing andsealing machines and it has reference more particularly to improvementsin the valve mechanism and parts associated therewith as employed 5 inmachines whereby cans are sealed under vacuo; this invention being inthe nature of an improvement upon the machine of our co-pendingapplication led on January 13, 1931, under Serial Number 508,514.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a moresatisfactory and more effective sealing condition and a smoother actionin the advancement of cans along the path of travel, by use of separatevalves for the intaking and for the delivery of cans into and from thevacuumizing chamber, as distinguished from the use of a single valve, asin-the machine of the application above mentioned.` l

, It is also an object of the invention to provide a constructionpermitting a smoother transfer of cans Within the machine from theseaner turret to the discharge Valve by use of a rotating turret insteadof the stationary guide plate as employed in the prior applicationdevice.

Other objects of the invention are to be found in the details ofconstruction and in the combination of the various parts `and in theirmode -of operation, as will hereinafter be described.

In accomplishing these objects, we have projvided the improved detailsof construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view ofa vacuumizing andseaming machine showing the two valve' construction asembodied in the` present invention.

Fig. 2 is alvertical section of the machine wherein the valve carrier isdisposed in open' position for better illustration of the valves and thevdriving gearing therefor.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the driving .gear train for thevarious parts of the machine.. y

Fig. 4 is a detail of a part of the gear train: this being' an elevationlooking in 'the direction of the arrows 4 4 in Fig'. 3. y

Before going into the detailed description `of the machine, it will bestated that in the machine described and ustrated in our previousapplication, above mentioned, we employ a single, rotary valve in'thehousing of the machine by which cans were delivered into and from thevacuumizing chamber. While thissingle valve is quite satisfactoryinsofar as sealing and transferring the cans is concerned, it has beenfound contraction resultant to use, that is detrimental to maintaining atightly sealed joint without a binding action. Furthermore, the size ofthe single valve presents certain diiculties in the machining of theparts that are desirable to overcome. Also, the use of the single valve,both for the intaking and discharging of dans makes it impractical inthis particular construction to employ a driven turretv for transferringcans from the seamer to the valve and, as a consequence, there is anundesirable unevenness in the transfer of the cans from the seamerturret to the valve.

In view of the above, we vhave overcome the difliculties andobjectionable features with respect to the single valve by employing twovalves; one for delivering cans into the vacuumizing machine and theother for delivering the sealed cans from the machine. This permits useof valves of such size that no' sealing diiculty is encountered anddifficulties in 1machining on the valves is avoided. Also, the use oftwo valves makes possible'a farther separation of the paths of travel ofcansentering and those leaving the seamer and permits the use of larotating transfer turret for the delivery of cans to the discharge valveand thus avoids the unevenness of travel previously noted.

Referring more in detail to the drawings- The present invention isapplied to a cam closing machine that is designed especially for seamingcovers or top ends, onto cans which have beentiilled under normalatmospheric conditions, but which are to be closed in vacuo. In itspresent embodiment the machine comprises an airtight housing 1 forming avacuumizing chamber 2 within which a doubleseaming machine, designatedin its entirety by reference numeral 3, is located. In this particularinstance the seamer is a two spindle machine and com- I prises first andsecond operation heads-of similar construction and operation; the firstoperation head 4 being shown in Fig. 2. The cans 5 which are to besealed are delivered in succession to the machine after they have beenfilled and the covers 5a loosely clinched thereon. The can feed, ordelivery means, as shown best in Fig. 1, comprises' a conveyermechanism,des ignated in' its entirety by numeral 6, from which the cansare advanced, or pushed into the pockets '7 of a rotating valve 8 by thearms 9a of a rotating turret 9. From the pockets of this valve the cansare extracted upon entering the vacucher, by the arms c of a rotatingctor turret lo which operates to advance the cans successively into thepockets 11 of an intermittently advanced seamer turret 12 whereby thecans are carried, successively and in proper timing to the see-mer headswhich operate to double seam the covers onto the can bodies.

The turret l2, by reason of itsl intermittent advance movements,delivers the cans after the covers have been seemed thereon, to atransfer turret 13 having arms 13a, operable to advance l thecanswithout change of speed of travel, into the pockets l-lc of arotating discharge valve .1d whereby the cans are delivered from thevacuum chamber, whereupon they are extracted from the valve pockets bythe action of the arms 15a of a revolving extractor turret 15 withwhich' suitable conveying mechanism as at 16, is assol for driving themachine, and this housing 18, in

turn, is supported upon a bed plate or base 19 which is extendedsufficiently at one side to serve as a support for the valve carrierhinge shaft and driving gears presently described.

'llhe drive shaft 20 of the machine ei;- tends transversely andhorizontally through the base housing 16. it one end of the shaft is apulley wheel 23 adapted to be operatively connected with or disconnectedfrom the shaft by clutch mech of suitable character under nai conhol orautomatic control; this mechanism not herein being illustrated as itforms no pertinent part of the present invention.

Keyed onto the main driving shaft as seen in Eig. 3, is a gear 25meshing with and driving a gear 26 keyed on a shaft 27 supportedparallel with and below shaft 20. This shaft 27 is formed with a wormgear 28, see Fig. 2, which meshes with a gear 29 that is disposed withina housing 30 and which is keyed on a shaft 31 extended from the housing;this latter shaft having its outer end rotatably mounted in a bearing 32fxed'on the-outer end of the bed plate 19.

The turret 12 of the seamer is intermittently advanced in proper withthe valve mechanism and transfer turrets by a geared connection with theshaft 2,? consisting of a gear wheel 33 on shaft 27 meshing with anddriving a gear 34 on a cross shaft 34u, this latter shaft beingconnected to the turret spindle 12a, see 2, by an intermittent geardrive designated in its entirety at 34h.

The two valves 8 and le, whereby the cans are delivered into and fromthe vacuumizing chamber are contained rotatably within a valve housing35. l This is bolted or otherwise suitably fastened upon a base frame 36within which valve supporting spindles 37 and 38 are rotatably mounted.The valves Il; and 111 are securely xed upon the upper ends of thesespindles and are rotated thereby. l

As seen best in Fig. 2, the spindles 37 and 38 are revoluble in bearings37' and 38 at' their lower ends and in taper bearings 37o and 38a attheir upper ends. 6 and le have :w ons 8c and Mc,

At their upper ends the valves Y Fig. 1 the hine in operation deliverscans, in `150 mosaics respectively, revolubly contained in bearings 6'and lo' carried in the cover plates fixed on the valve housing 35. Y

The valve housing and base housing 36'are provided with lateralportions, formed with ver` tically aligned bearings 39-39' disposedbetween journal bearings 40-40 fixed to the vacuum chamber housing, andalso in alignment with a bearing socket 41 formed in the bed plate 19.These aligned bearings contain a vertical shaft 42 which serves as asupporting hinge vpin for the valve housing and base and about whichthese parts may swing to and from closed relation with respect to thehousing of the vacuumchamber. This swinging movement of the valvehousing is best illustrated in Fig'. 1 wherein the housing is shown inclosed position in full lines and in open position in dotted lines; thefeed conveyer and turrets being carried therewith in its swingingmovement. Y

To provide for a tightly sealed joint between the valve housing and thevacuum chamber, when the machine is closed, the chamber housing isformed at one side with an inwardly rounded wall seat 45 vprovided withan opening 46 of considerable extent. The valve housing 35 iscorrespondingly rounded outwardly to snugly t against the seat 45 and ithas an opening 47 adapted to register withthe opening 46 when the valveis closed. A packing strip 48 of suitable material is inset in a groovein the valve housing about the opening so,as to preclude any possibleleakage of air into Awise is revo'lubly fitted within the outlet. Eachvalve is in the form of a downwardly tapered cylinder, formed with threeequally spaced pockets in its side walls Within which the cans arereceived and conveyed. These valves are rotated in synchronism throughthe medium of their supporting spindles 37 and 38 which, at their lowerends have gear wheels 53 'and 54 keyed thereon, respectively and thesegears are connected through the medium of an idler gear 55 carried on asupporting shaft 56 xed on the housing 36. The gear wheel 54 isoperatively connected to the valve driving shaft 31 through the mediumof a `gearvtrain as shown in Fig.l 3, including an idler gear 61, adriven gear 58 that is formed on the upper end of a sleeve 59 rotatableabout the lower end of the hinge shaft 42, a bevel gear 60 keyed on thelower end of the sleeve, a bevel gear 61a that is formed on and xed toanother sleeve 62 revoluble about shaft 31 within the bearing 32; thislatter sleeve being normally operatively connected to the shaft 31through the medium of an automatically releasing clutch mechanism, fullydescribed in our previous application, and herein indicated in itsentirety by lpockets of the valve 14 which, in turn, delivers propertiming and spacing, into thevpockets of valve 8 from which they areextractedupon entering the chamber by the turret 10 and are transferredto the seamer turret. From the `seamer the cans are finally transferredback to valve 1 4. by the turret 13 and the valve carries them to theoutside of the chamber whereupon they are extracted from the valve andtransferred to the conveyer 16 by the turret 15. y

Referring again to the devices associated with the valve mechanism forfeeding cans into and from the chamber, it will be observed that thetransfer turret 10 is mounted upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 65driven by a gear wheel 66 at its lower end operating in mesh with thedriving gear 54 of valve spindle 38. Likewise, the extractor turret 15is mounted upon a-vertical shaft 68 revoluble in the housing 36 landhaving a driving gear 69 at its lower end meshing with the driving gearwheel 53 of the valve spindle 37. The transfer turret 13 is fixed on theupper end of a vertical shaft 70 mounted in the housing 36 and providedat its lower end with a drivingl gear wheel 71 operatively connectedthrough idler gears 72 and 73 with the gear wheel 53; al1 gearsmentioned being so proportioned that all of the various parts willoperate in proper timing toy lcooperatively carry out theirseparatefunctions.

The conveyer turret 9 is driven by a geared connection with the gearwheel 58. As seen in llig.` 3 this turret is carried by a vertical shaft75 equipped with a driving gear 76 at its lower end meshing with gear58. The feed conveyer mechanism 6 is driven by gearing connected withthe gear 53. `This consists of a bevel gear 78 fixed on the lower end ofthe shaft 68l to drive a bevel gear 79 with which a sprocket wheel 80 isformed as seen in Fig. 4. The conveyer 16 consists of a sprocket chainbelt that extends about the sprocket wheel 80 and 'a sprocket 82 on theouter end of the feed mechanism drive shaft 83; the latter as seen inFig. 3, extending at a right angle to the direction of the conveyermechanism 6 and having sprockets 84 and 85 at its inner end over whichchain belts 86 and 87 operate lengthwise within the feed conveyerguideway 88 to carry the cans 5 to the turret 9. A timing screw 90 islocated along one side of the guideway 88 to space and time the cans intheir delivery to the turret 9. This 'screw is driven by a geared4connection with -the at 91. f

The double seamer 3 contained within the vacuum chamber is also drivenby a connection with the main shaft 20, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,wherein designates the seamer drive shaft and 96 as bevel gear keyedthereon and meshing with a bevel gear 97 f'lxed on` the shaft 20. Theconstruction and operation" of the seamer will not be described exceptto s'ay that the turret 12 operates to intermittently advance the cansre-r ceived in its pockets 11 in succession to the seaming heads whichoperate thereon .to close the seam. The turret then delivers the cans topo-v sition for advancement by the turret 13 into the chain belt 87 asdesignated the cans to the exterior of the chamber where they areextracted and delivered onto conveyer 16 by the turret 15. p

With this construction all of the devices car-v ried on the valvesupporting base are kept in proper timing regardless of opening orclosing of the machine because of the fact that all gears in the drivingchain are always in mesh and all are driven through the gear wheel 58 onthe hinge shaft 42. This permits the valve support to be swung to openposition without disengagement of gears. It also permits the valves andconveyers tobe driven while the valve is open. The valve then may beclosed without requiring any resetting or adjustment. 4

This provision of two valves gives more space between the paths of thecan entering and leaving the vacuum chamber and this makes possible theinsertion of the delivery turret 13 for effecting a smoother action.Also, the reduction in size of the valves makes possible a certainaccuracy in machining their surfaces that preclude leakage, and avoidsthe possibility of distortion or warping of the Valve under differenttemperature conditions.

Having thus described our 'invention what we claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letiters Patent is- 1. In amachine for closing cansin vacuo, a seaming machine, a housing forming a vacuum chamberenclosing the said machine and having an opening, a hinge shaftsupported from the housing, a valve housing supported by the hinge shaftto swing from open position to closed position over the housing openingin an air sealed joint, inlet and discharge passages in the said valvehousing providing communication between the interior and exterior of thechamber, rotary pocketed valves operable in said passages for thedelivery of cans into and from the chamber through said opening; each ofsaid valves having a driving spindle, driving gears for the spindles, adriven gear coaxial of the hinge shaft and driving gears for the saidvalves in a train driven by said driven gear.

2. In a machine of the character described, a can closing mechanism, ahousing enclosing said mechanism having `an opening, a closure sectionhingedly attached to the housing to swing from open position to closedposition at which it has a sealed connection with the housing about thehousing opening; said lsection having two separate openings therein,individual valve devices operable in each opening of said section, means1 0 valve device for delivery from the housing.

NELSON TROYER.

PAUI.; E. PEARSON.` .140

